Abstract

The SRI Cartographic Modeling Environment has been created to support research on interactive, semiautomated, and automated computer-based cartographic activities. The underlying image manipulation capabilities are provided by the SRI ImagCalc$^TM$ system. The cartographic features and data that can be entered include multiple images, camera models, digital terrain elevation data, point, line, and area cartographic features, and a wide assortment of three-dimensional objects. Interactive capabilities include free-hand feature entry, altering features while constraining them to conform to the terrain and lighting geometry, adjustment of feature parameters, and the adjustment of the camera model to display the scene features from arbitrary viewpoints. Cartographic features are depictable either as wire-frame sketches for interactive purposes or as texture-mapped renderings for realistic scene synthesis. High-quality simulated scenes are created by texture-mapped images onto terrain data and adding renderings of cartographic features using depth-buffering and antialiasing techniques. Motion sequences can be created by choosing a series of camera models and rendering the simulated appearance of the scene from each viewpoint.